Blood PromiseSpirit Bound
by Tay Vamp
Summary: Rose is on a mission to save Dimitri. But things are going wrong when she fights. She is gaining new Shadow-Kissed powers after she makes kills. Will she be able to keep her promise to Dimitri or will she fail because of her powers?
1. Chapter 1

Note From the Writer:

I just wanted to say that this is the theory of what I think will happen during _Blood Promise_ and _Spirit Bound_ by Richelle Mead from the_ Vampire Academy_ series. I have what I really thought would happen posted on YouTube. When I started writing things started to change. I had to change some things so it would all fit together. I'm not a person who get's down into details. I'm sure you can use your imagination to guess things that weren't so descriptive. I hope you enjoy reading this.

Chapter 1

Life definitely hasn't been easy since leaving the academy. The first day all I did was cry. I _had_ to get a hold of myself. I'm better now, though. Able to go on throughout my day without a tear.

That doesn't mean that I'm not worrying about Lissa. We're not used to being apart. I'm afraid when, _if, _I return she won't forgive me. Even if I am able to return before the end of the school year, I don't have a very good chance at getting Lissa as my Moroi. I dropped out of school and they will probably want the best guardian they can get for the last remaining Dragomir.

I decided to travel east. I thought about maybe having a ghost help me but I didn't know if any of them would be as kind to me as Mason. I wouldn't have been able to get a strait forward answer anyway since they can't speak. I still haven't felt nauseated yet. My theory is that the Strigoi are outside of the Royal Court just like they were at the school. If that doesn't work then I am going to go into the Court and find Mia. She may be able to give me some advice on where they are. If she has no help for me then I plan to go to Russia. I plan to find the blood whore commune where Dimitri's family lives. They may be able to tell me where he would have gone.

I'm now sitting on a hotel bed. I have been making sure to use my money wisely. It's the middle of the night and I can't find sleep. Since I'm among the humans and it's safer this way, I have decided to travel during the day. Strigoi can't attack me during the day. Me being a Dhampir, I can travel just like a human.

I decided to check up on Lissa. She would probably be asleep by now. It took me only a second to snap into her head.

"_Christian, where do you think Rose is," asked Lissa. They were in her room sitting on the couch. Christian's arm was around her shoulders._

"_You never told me," said Christian, " why Rose is going after those Strigoi by herself. Why she didn't ask any of us to go with her."_

_Lissa knew she had to edit. She couldn't tell Christian about me being in love with Dimitri. It could get me in major trouble later. So instead she said, "When we went shopping for dresses for the dance a few months ago, Rose and the other Guardians were talking about Strigoi. Dimitri told Rose that if he were ever turned into a Strigoi he wanted someone to kill him. Rose said the same thing. She said they made a promise that if one or the other turned then the other would find and kill them. She went to go keep her promise. I tried to get her to stay but she wouldn't." Lissa's voice had caught on a sob._

"_Hey, everything is going to be okay. Don't worry." He dabbed at her tears. He was rocking them back and froth soothingly._

_Lissa continued, "She left 3 days ago, Christian. The Strigoi are faster and stronger than her. If they are trying to get across the country they could be on the other side and Rose may be only half way there. She doesn't have that good of a chance to find them especially without help."_

"_Like I said. Rose will be fine. __You know her. She will get by. She's tough." He was saying this in a comforting tone. It seemed to help her a little. She was still worried about me. _

"_Yah," said Lissa, "I know but I can't help but to worry about her. She seemed upset when she left. And I feel so guilty. Because of me Rose can't live her life. She can't date who she wants and go on shopping sprees. Even if she became my guardian we couldn't hang out like we use to. She always has to be on watch for Strigoi."_

"_Hey," he said firmly, "Rose makes her own decisions. You didn't force her into this life. She new what being a Guardian cost. She did this because she wants to. She wants to protect you, Liss."_

_She knew he was right. But she couldn't help but feel guilty for what I have to go through to be her guardian. She finally fully understood why I wanted that manicure at the Royal Court, and why I acted like that was Christmas morning and I just got a really expensive present. _

"_I'm still worried about her. What if she does find Strigoi? She could walk right into a trap or be easily outnumbered!"_

"_Liss. She's going to be okay! She's killed Strigoi before. She knows what she's doing. Stop worrying. Now come on. It's getting late. I doubt I will be able to sneak back into my dorm tonight. Let's go to bed."_

"_Fine."_

Then I was back in the hotel bedroom. _What am I going to do about you, Lissa?_ I thought. I decided I should rest up. Lissa was right. Strigoi are faster and stronger than humans, Moroi, and even Dhampirs.

The next morning I dressed in Guardian black. I put my hair up the way Dimitri liked it. He had always loved my hair and had encouraged me not to cut it. I had only made it to Wisconsin. I had made a quick trip to Spokane. The tunnels and the house where we where held hostage at were empty.

I checked out of the hotel. This time I had the name of Erin Smith. I didn't want to leave a trail behind me just in case someone was following or looking for me. Everywhere I went I gave a new name. I was in Madison, Wisconsin. I had stopped here to rest up and to get a couple of new outfits. I headed off toward the airport to catch my next flight. My tickets had been bought yesterday after I got off the plane. I have learned to deal with my headaches. I barely notice them anymore. The only time I really notice is when I come down from the air.

The flight was about 3 hours long. It was actually pretty quiet considering it to be the middle of the day on an airplane. Barely any children were riding. Most people looked like they were on business. The plane landed in Philadelphia. I was nowhere near close to the Court, but this was the closest plane ride I could find.

From there I got on a bus that would take me south. It would be only a couple of cities away from the Royal Court and the closest one to it was an hour away. I made it to the city that held the campus, Lehigh. The campus the queen wanted Lissa to go to. I took off to the woods. It would be faster and easier to run than to rent a vehicle, especially considering there were no roads that I knew of that would take me there.

I scalped the area around the Royal Court. Making sure to stay out of a Guardian's line of sight. Nothing even looked like anywhere a Strigoi had been staying. No nauseas feelings either. I decided it was time to go visit Mia.

"Who's out there," called a Guardian as I approached the border. "State your name and business or we will attack"

I stopped dead in my tracks and lifted my hands in a peace making gesture. "My name is Rosemarie Hathaway. Rose. I am here to see a friend of mine. She lives here at the Royal Court."

"Step forward slowly and show your hands," called another Guardian.

I did as I was told. Exaggerating my movements so they could see I ment them no harm. One of the men I recognized. He was one that had greeted us when we arrived in the school's private jet. He seemed to recognize me.

"You may enter the boundaries. You were here with the St. Vladimir's school, were you not?"

I hated when people talked like that. It sometimes confused me on how I should answer. "Yes. I was with them."

"My name is Guardian Jameson," said the one I knew. "This is Guardian Andrews. What is the name of this friend of yours? We will lead you to her."

"Her name is Mia Rinaldi."

"Follow us."

I followed. Mia answered the door and after a confirmation from her, the Guardians left us. She led me into a sitting room.

As soon as we sat down she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? And by yourself at that. I heard about what happened at the school."

"I dropped out. I came here to see if you could help me out with some information."

"Dropped out? You must be joking. I know you better than that. This is what you have been training for your whole life."

"No joke. I have some things I have to take care of. When I get done then I'm going back to school to finish my training."

"What do you need to know? I can't get you too much information but I can do some things," she said.

"Do you know of any place where Strigoi would be staying around here? Or maybe like where the main portion of them live? I know they tend not to band together but they have been doing it lately and I need all the help I can get."

She looked at me in shock. "Why do you want to know that?" Gasp. "Your going after them aren't you?!"

"Yes, I am, Mia. I have some things I need to take care of and it involves them."

"Well, I have to be honest with you, Rose. I don't know. As far as I know of, the Guardians take a sweep of the surrounding forests everyday. You can't be too careful."

"Oh, ok. That's fine. I didn't think you would know anything, but it was worth a shot."

"When are you leaving," asked Mia.

"Soon. Very Soon. Like I said, I was just making a short trip. I really do need to get on my way so I can get back to St. Vlad's in time."

Mia looked disappointed. "Oh, ok. Yah, I understand."

I stood up and hugged Mia. "It was nice seeing you again. I will try to stop by sometime during a better time so we can have a nice conversation and catch up. I can't wait to here how you are doing with your fighting and magic."

"Same here," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Russia was beautiful. I could see why Dimitri would look like he had homesickness when it was mentioned. It was dark outside but I could still tell it was beautiful. I stood in the heart of a town with a name I couldn't pronounce. I decided to try to find a city hall or a place where I could get information. This was a tourist town and lots of people from all over pass through it. Finally a building that resembled a place of law and order came into view.

I walked into a designer decorated lobby. It was magnificent. I walked up to the man behind the counter. He looked to be about in his late thirties. It was obvious he was a Moroi.

"Excuse me," I said. Luckily he didn't seem to be confused with my English. "I need some help. I am here visiting an old friend. She lives in one of the feeding communities around here. I'm not sure which one exactly it is, though." Yes I lied a bit, but I needed information. "Do you have a list of theses communities?"

"I can see you are a Dhampir." He said. I nodded. "There aren't many around this side of the country. Only two. And yes I can give them to you. What is your friend's last name? I may be able to direct you to the right one. I know a lot of people around here."

"Belikov," I said.

He walked into a room in the back. He came back holding a peace of paper. He was reading over it.

"Ah, yes. There is only one Belikov family around this area. They live in the Vitaly commune."

"Thank you, sir. You have been a big help. Have a nice night." I waved and turned toward the door.

"Wait," called the man. I turned. He was giving me a very scrutinizing look..

"Yes," I asked.

"You look very familiar. I know I have never seen you before, but maybe a relative. Are you related to a man named Ibrahim?"

The name rang a dim bell. Then I got it. The queen had mentioned that name when she was talking bad about my mother. "I'm not sure," I told him truthfully. "I don't know anyone of my family other than my mother. All I know is that my mother is Irish and my father is Turkish."

"I am friends with Ibrahim. We have known each other for years. What is your name miss? If I may ask."

What did it matter. He may know my possible father. I didn't think anyone would follow me here. "Rose Hathaway."

His face lit up. "I don't know how I didn't see it when you walked in. You said your mother was Irish, right?" I nodded. "I believe you just may be Ibrahim's daughter. I remember him telling me that he had and Irish Guardian when he was younger. They were very close and they had a child together. He said he got tired of being shunned by other Moroi she he left her. He said that's when she made off with his only daughter."

This man's story sounded very reasonable. The queen had said something about my father getting over my mother and how he didn't love her. It would make sense with what Mom's reactions were when I talked bad about her being with my father.

"By any chance is this Ibrahim Turkish?" He nodded. "I think you may be right. Do you know where he lives. I'm kinda in a hurry right now, but when I get time, I would like to meet him."

"He lives not far from here in the forest. But he is actually on a trip to the feeding commune where your friend lives. It's the closest feeders around here. That's where most Moroi around here go."

"Thank you, sir. It was nice talking to you. Bye."

"Here take this paper. It has the address of where your Belikov friend lives. Goodbye, Rose. Have a safe journey."

The blood whore commune was not what I had expected. I remember Dimitri telling my that it isn't as bad as the stories say. He was right. Everyone here was in high spirits. Children were laughing and playing while their mothers cleaned.

The paper said that they lived on Viktor. It was off the left side of the road. In front of the Belikov house was a young woman gardening. There was definitely a resemblance. It was Dimitri's youngest sister. He had said he had two. I walked up to the woman. She was maybe three or four years older than me. She looked up from her gardening to see I was heading toward her. She stood up to greet me.

"Hello. Do you speak English?"

"Yes. May I ask who I am speaking to?" She spoke with perfect clarity but she still had the Russian accent. She wasn't able to pull it off as well as Dimitri.

"My name is Rose Hathaway. I have come here to speak with your family about your brother Dimitri."

Her eyes widened. She was definitely not expecting this. "My name is Zhanna Belikov. Please, come inside so you may speak to everyone at once."

She led me into the small house. Dimitri's mother was in the kitchen cooking. An elderly women stood on the other side of the room chopping up vegetables. I guessed that it was Dimitri's grandmother.

Zhanna addressed her mother and told her why I was here in Russian. They seemed just as surprised of my presence as Zhanna had.

"Hello Rose," Ms. Belikov said. "I am Liliya. I see you have already met Zhanna. This is my mother, Irina." She gestured to the woman beside her. "Please, come have a seat. Zhanna says you bring news of my precious Dimitri."

I followed her back into the seating room. The two older women sat in the love seat. I sat in an armchair and so did Zhanna.

"I am here because I need your help." I stated it plain and simple. Might as well get it out now. "I have come here from St. Vladimir's Vampire Academy. I was a student there. Training to become a Guardian. I dropped out not but a week ago. There have been strange things happening. I don't know if you know or not, but in America there have been a lot of Strigoi attacks against Moroi lately."

"Yes, we have heard. It is so sad. Royal Moroi and Dhampirs being killed like that is slaughter. But please, go on with your story."

"Well two years ago I ran away from school to keep my Moroi best friend safe. Dimitri was the one that found us. Him and his team took us back to school. Our headmistress put Dimitri in charge of training me so I could catch up with the rest of my class. Over these few months Dimitri and I have come to friendly terms." Liliya nodded. "But a week before I left school, Strigoi attacked." I realized I had tears in my eyes and wiped them away. "You have to understand this is hard for me to talk about." She nodded sympathetically. "Students and Guardians were killed. We went to the Strigoi's base and attacked them. Some escaped. They took two victims with them."

I could tell they knew where I was going with this. We all had tears in our eyes.

"Please, tell us what happened," she sobbed. I felt sympathy for them. They were close to Dimitri unlike how I was with my mother.

I continued on with my story. "Dimitri and a girl named Molly were both taken. I was there when Dimitri was bitten. My mother was there and she wouldn't let me go back to help him. We were being swamped by Strigoi. When we went on a trip once, some other Guardians and us talked about what we would want to happen if we were turned. Dimitri and I promised each other that if one of us turned the other would go and kill them." I stopped to wipe the tears off of my face.

Zhanna was the one who spoke. "You can't kill him! He's my brother."

"Zhanna," said Irina, "Calm down. We all knew there was a chance of this happening. But Rose, why did you come here to tell us this. I'm glad you did, but I don't see why you would want to."

"I came here because I felt it was the right thing to do. I knew about you because he would often talk about you all. I need your help. I plan to find him. If anyone is going to kill him it should be me. I made him a promise. I have killed Strigoi before. Dimitri knows all of my moves an I his, but I have to find him. I'm the only one who can do it. I have beat him before when our teachers were doing our trials. He snuck up on us on our day off but I was able to beat him."

It looked like Liliya was fighting back tears. "Yes. I see your point. You should go after him. Dimitri is a tough fighter and he will kill anyone without the right amount of experience. He will be even tougher now and we don't need anymore Strigoi. But what is it that you need our help for?"

"I need you to tell me places that he liked or may want to go. It's the only thing I can think of right now"

"Yes-" she was cut off by a knock on the door. "Excuse me a moment" She went to go answer the door.

She greeted him in Russian.

"Hello," the man responded in English. He had an accent I couldn't place. I was told I could come here for today's feeding."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

There at the door stood a man with dark brown hair. Almost black. He wore expensive, casual clothing. He was tall, but shorter than Dimitri. He had skin that was pale but was tanner than most Moroi. I stood up in shock. I'm sure my face made me look like an idiot. He seemed to finally take a good look at Liliya and his surroundings.

"It seems I have come at a bad . . ." his words fell off when he looked at me. "Rosemarie?" he asked in a shaky voice. I nodded at a loss of words. We just stood there studying each other.

"Do you know each other," asked Liliya.

I was the first one to gain back my senses. "No, not really. I know who he is if that's what you mean. But I don't _know_ him. This is my father, Ibrahim. I've never actually met him before."

We all just sat there stunned and then Liliya's senses kicked back in. "Please come sit down, sir." He went and sat on the couch across from the love seat -which the Zhanna and her grandmother still sat on trying to dry their tears unsuccessfully. "We were just talking about why Rose is here and the information she has about my son. Rose please continue."

I was still staring at Ibrahim. I snapped back into attention. "Actually you were just about to tell me where Dimitri used to like or wanted to go."

"Wait," interrupted Ibrahim, "Why are you in blood whore commune, Rosemarie? And what do you have to do with these people?" He looked like he was finally regaining his senses.

"I go by Rose. I have come here seeking their help. I am close with their son and I made a promise to him if he were ever to turn Strigoi I would go and kill him. There was an attack at the school and he was bitten. Mom dragged me out before I could save him."

"Your mother? How is she? Still a Guardian?"

"She's fine. She's somewhere in Europe right now. I saw her a week ago. And yes, She is still a Guardian."

"Are you?"

"No. I dropped out of school last week. I only had a few more months until I graduated, but I have to go find Dimitri."

"And why does this Dimitri character mean so much to you?" asked my father.

"Because he was my mentor." I couldn't tell them the full truth. That I loved him and I would do anything for him. "Plus, I made a promise. If one of us were to turn the other would go and kill them.

"Liliya, would you please continue about Dimitri?" I asked.

"Of course. He always wanted to go to America. To see the beaches. He thought that would be the most beautiful thing."

"Anywhere else?"

"Oh, I almost forgot. When he was a boy he loved to go to the caves outside of the village. He would go there-" but I wasn't paying attention any more. I snapped into Lissa's mind. It was something I definitely wasn't expecting. I hadn't been in her mind since the hotel in Wisconsin. It was unexpected. I had learned to stay out of her mind during the day. But something was wrong.

"_Rose! It's Victor. He's escaped out of prison!_ Her, Christian, Eddie, and Adrian were in a car. Lissa was trying her best to keep me out of what was going on. But she wasn't good enough. They were headed to stop Victor. They knew where he was hiding and they wanted to be the ones to kill them. They had Adrian sneak them out saying they were going shopping at Missoula.

I snapped out of her head to find Irina's hands on my shoulders and a concerned Liliya behind her. They were calling my name. "Rose," she said again.

"Sorry," I said. "I have a bond with my best friend. She's a Moroi." They gave me questioning looks. I tried to explain. "I was once in a car accident with Vasilisa Dragomir and her family. It was about two years ago. Everyone died except Lissa. Including me. I was brought back to life. I'm now Shadow-Kissed and we share a mental bond. I can go into her mind but she can't get into mine. Sometimes I just snap into her head but not lately. The only reason it happened was because she sent me a message saying that Victor Dashkov has escaped the Royal Prison. I'm sorry to leave like this but I must go." I stood up. Forcing them to back up. "Lissa tried to hide what she is doing but she's going to go fight him. I have to go save her."

"You just got here," protested Liliya.

"Victor is strong and he has friends who are willing to help him. He's tortured Lissa, and through Lissa, me, before already. I'm not going to let that happen again," my tone made it final.

"I'm going with you," said Ibrahim. "I want to make sure you are safe. Plus, I just met you and I would like to get to know you and learn about your Shadow-Kissed thing."

"No," I said sharply. He flinched from the venom in my voice. "The last thing I need is someone else to worry about. Already I have to worry about three Moroi and a soon-to-be Guardian who hasn't killed a single Strigoi."

"Oh, and you have," he said mockingly.

"Actually I have. Two on my own and then an unknown amount at the school." I turned around. I moved my ponytail out of the way. "See? Now your wasting my time. It has been nice talking with all of you. I am sorry about the wretched news I have brought you today. The only thing I can do for you now is kill Dimitri. It's the only way any of us are going to have peace. Goodbye." I turned to the door. Ibrahim followed.

"I'm going. I'll stay out of your way. I promise"

We were in the middle of town by then. "Fine. If your going to come make sure your like a shadow. I'm going to have to come up with a plan and watch Lissa as much as possible."

"Fine."

Ibrahim only asked a few questions. When we would change course he would ask our next destination. And occasionally he would ask a question about me. We were on an airplane now back to the U.S. I was looking through Lissa's mind again. Trying to figure out where she was going. All I could get out of her mind was that they were heading northeast. Sometime later I fell asleep. I dreamed.

_I was in an elegant dress in a ballroom. The dress was made of red silk. It split on the side revealing my leg all the way up till my thigh. It fit nice and snug. Sleeveless. Adrian walked up to me wearing a black tux. Hair in its usual style._

"_Little Dhampir," he said. "Where are you? Lissa wouldn't tell me where you are or why you left. Only that you dropped out but you planned on coming back. I already knew that of course."_

"_I'm in the air right now. Heading back into the U.S. You will not believe who I have with me."_

"_Who?"_

"_My father."_

_He grabbed my hand and put a hand around my waist. We started twirling around the dance floor._

"_Your father? How did you find him? Are you sure it's even him?"_

"_Yep. It's my dad. Very strong resemblance. I met him when I was meeting a friend."_

"_Well I'm happy for you. Have you had a talk with him yet?"_

"_No. I told him if he wanted to come he had to act as a shadow. He has only asked a few questions. Just basic stuff about me and then when we switch directions. So. Where_ _are you guys at? I know you're not at St. Vladimir's."_

"_Lissa doesn't want you to know that. But I think you should. You may have dropped out but you are still her best friend and when you get back you will be her guardian. We're on our way to Kamloops. It's in the British Columbia province."_

"_Oh. Well I guess I'm going to go. I'm sure our plane will be landing soon. It was nice talking to you."_

"_Goodbye, Little Dhampir."_

"_See you soon."_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When the plane landed my head exploded. I moaned in shock of the pain but made no other noise.

"Are you okay, Rose," asked Ibrahim.

"Yah. Just part of the Shadow-Kissed thing. Would you believe me if I told you I'm seeing ghosts right now? Didn't think so." He gave me a Rose-is-crazy-look. I concentrated. "There. I said. "All gone. Ready to go?"

"Sure."

We were at the same airport that I had left the States from. I walked up to the front desk to order our next tickets.

"Hello," said the perky woman. It was about noon and everyone was up and running.

"Hi. I need two middle class tickets to Kamloops, British Columbia."

"Okay. No problem. She handed us our tickets for the next flight. We arrived just in time. The plane was just now boarding. Once we were in our seats I explained the plan.

"Here's how it is going to work. If I tell you to do something you better do it. If I say _'down_' you better be on the floor. I'm not taking any crap. Like I said before I don't need another Moroi to guard. We will be going into some caves. You probably won't be able to see well and neither will I, but don't worry. I have this extra sense, it's kinda makes me feel nauseated, and it will tell me when Strigoi are near. That's why you need to be fast. I only get a few seconds warning. I'm going in and going to kill Victor. Any questions?"

"Yes, I do. Why do you take me as a complete idiot? I do know things, you know."

"Sorry. I'm just getting everything out. When you work with students from St. Vlad's you have to learn to put everything into specifics so everyone knows what's going to happen. Habit."

"Apology excepted."

We arrived at the airport shortly after 4:00. Lissa and the gang were sleeping. They wanted to be rested up when tomorrow morning came. That's when they were going to attack. When the Strigoi had nowhere to run. We got a hotel room two towns away from where Lissa was. We both went to our separate beds and crashed. I slept without a single dream.

Even leaving early we missed the gang. They had already headed off to the caves. The caves were about a thirty-minute walk into the forest. They were abandoned long ago. Apparently Victor had no money to pay for a hotel. They were already half way there when we left the little town.

"Damn," I said. "We got to move and we got to move fast. We can't let them beat us there. Even with Eddie and Christian they don't stand a chance."

"I agree. Let's move."

We ran as hard as we could. I had to slow my pace a little so he could keep up. Last thing I needed was my father lost in the middle of the woods with Victor's goons and Strigoi. Last time I was in Lissa's mind I had discovered that Victor had teamed up with the Strigoi. They helped him now and he'd backstab them all later. Lissa was already at the caves fighting. Farther down the tunnel I caught sight of Dimitri. He still looked just as handsome. Just in a more evil way. His eyes were red and wild. The face of an animal. Not the animal hunger I had seen on his face when we were in the cabin or when Victor put the charm on us. This was more savage.

"No," I whispered. I knew Mason had said he was a Strigoi but it broke my heart to actually see it with my own eyes.

Ibrahim must have heard the agony in my voice. He looked at me with a terrified and curious face.

"They're fine. I just saw Dim-Dimitri. He really has turned."

We arrived at the cave in the heat of battle. Automatically I felt nauseated and the blood lust kicked in. I fought off the Strigoi that had noticed us. Not many had for they were all fighting for their lives. It was a pretty even match. I saw Victor and Dimitri standing in the back corner where I had seen him through Lissa's head. Dimitri's beauty took my breath away.

_He's NOT the Dimitri you love, Rose! _I scolded myself. I knew what I had to do. Taking my stake out of my coat and leaving my father to defend for himself I ran over to Dimitri.

One word stopped me dead in my tracks. "Roza," Dimitri said like a prayer. "Roza, you really wouldn't kill me would you?"

"You're not the Dimitri I love. You have taken away my love's soul. We made a promise and now I'm keeping it. I'm here to kill you, Dimitri."

"But I want to live, Roza. This life is wonderful. I'm faster and stronger than I ever was and I will get to live forever. I will always be getting stronger. I want you to join me, Roza. Join me and we can have what we never did. We can be together without anyone to interfere. Just you and me. For all of eternity."

I almost fell for it but then I caught myself. As fast as I could I drove the stake towards my true love's heart. But he was faster. He caught my arms.

As soon as he touched me I felt a power like I'd never felt before enter my body. My head exploded harder than it ever had before. Ghosts were everywhere. Then everything went black. It wasn't pitch black. There were shadows of light here and there. I went towards the brightest one hoping to find a way out. But as I got up to it I realized it wasn't a light after all. It was a spirit. And not just anyone's. Dimitri's. I reached for him as he reached for me.

As soon as I touched the love of my life's spirit I found myself in the real world. Dimitri had pulled me close and his fangs had punctured my skin. He was turning me. Or at least he _was_. He was now frozen just as I. I still had the headache and was filled with power. But the power felt stronger and like it was going into Dimitri. We stood like that until the power drained. We both fell to the floor.

Dimitri jumped up and headed towards Victor. But before he turned away I caught sight of his face. His eyes were the dark color I loved so much. I rolled over and grabbed my stake. Standing up I felt exhausted. But I had to continue fighting. I had to protect Lissa. I ran over to her. She was surrounded by Strigoi. They heard my approach and a couple turned my direction. They were newly turned Strigoi. That was obvious. I was able to move myself fast enough to get in between them and to Lissa. She looked beaten. She was covered in bruises and scratches. Nothing that looked too serious. I was able to kill seven of the eight Strigoi around Lissa. Just as I launched my stake into the seventh one's heart I felt a terrible pain in the back of my head. Then I blacked out.

I woke up to find myself lying on a bed with Dimitri sitting beside me. I was in the med clinic at St. Vlad'.

"Roza," he said relieved. "Do you know how bad you had me scared back there? I see you kicking ass even though you looked like you were about to pass out. And then I see a Strigoi leaning over your neck!"

"Dimitri," I exclaimed, "You're alive! I don't know how I did it but I don't care. I've been a train wreck. I was so terrified!" I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him hard. It was filled with love, passion, relief, and so much more. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Oh, Roza. Here lay back down. You look like your about to faint and you have lost a lot of blood. You went through two Strigoi bites. Sorry about that by the way."

I did as he said. I really did feel like I could pass out. I did my hardest to stay conscious. I had to see that glorious face. I was afraid this was a dream and I would wake up later to discover that we really hadn't rescued him. He kissed my forehead. I felt two sharp needles press into my head and flinched back.

"Sorry. I'm not used to having fangs and sanity at the same time. When you healed me Roza, I didn't turn back into a … Dhampir. I turned … Moroi."

He let me process this. _Dimitri is a Moroi!? _It was strange to take in.

"Here you stay here and I'll go get Lissa and Dr. Olendzki. Lissa has been dying to talk to you."

He left the room but after that I don't remember. I had passed out again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When it was okay for me to leave to the clinic, Dimitri led me to Kirova's office. She was wanting to speak to everyone at once. Ibrahim and Adrian included. Kirova was happy to see Dimitri okay. The rest of us got scolded.

When Kirova's speech was over I asked the question that I had barely been able to keep bottled up. "Can I come back to school? I want to come back and finish my training so I can be Lissa's guardian."

"Rose, you dropped out. You'd have to repeat the whole year."

That's when Ibrahim stepped in. "Headmistress, my daughter here has done a great deal. She saved this Moroi girl's life and turned this man into a Moroi when he was a Strigoi."

"Did you just say daughter," asked Kirova astonished. Ibrahim nodded. "Well, we finally meet Rose's father. What is your name sir?

"My name is Ibrahim Ivashkov. I am Queen Tatiana's son." That shocked even me.

"I didn't realize the queen had a son," Kirova said shocked.

I just stared at him for a few minutes. Now that I looked at him there was a bit of resemblance. He must have got his coloring from is father like me. Finally I said, "Wait. What?" Making me sound even more stupid. "I'm the queen's granddaughter? You have got to be kidding me!"

My father shook his head. "I'm serious. I am her only son and you are her only grandchild."

"I can't believe this, " said Kirova. "You two don't even look like the queen."

"I took after my father's side like Rosemarie. I wouldn't have believed it either if I was in another's place."

"Let's get back on topic. So I dropped out of school. Why should have to redo my entire senior year. I was only out for a week. Can't I do extra training? And if you think about it, I only missed three days since I have counseling on the other days."

"She has a point," said Dimitri. "And the three days that she missed were half days. I would be more than happy to give her extra training. Plus, she has been fighting real Strigoi. When the school was attacked she was out there and then when she fought Victor's Strigoi in Kamloops. She has had more training than the other students from actually being out on the field."

Kirova thought for a minute. "Fine. She may continue her classes. But there better not be any slacking. You are going to have to work like the rest of the students. And I'm taking you out of counseling. You will work full days just like everyone else and you will go back to protecting Christian. Same for you Mr. Castile. You will go back to protecting Vasilisa."

"Yes ma'am."

"Very well. Now I want to ask my question. Ibrahim, you said that Rose turned Guardian Belikov into a Moroi?"

"Yes, " said Ibrahim.

"Then explain, Miss Hathaway."

I did my best to describe what had happened in the cave. I explained the filling up with power and going into the dark land with souls. About how I found Dimitri's and when I did, how I returned and gave him his soul. "I think why he turned into a Moroi and not a Dhampir is because when he was a Strigoi he grew fangs and had blood cravings. All I did was return his soul and give him back his sanity."

Everyone in the room stared at me in awe. I hadn't explained to anyone yet what happened. Lissa and Adrian really stared.

"Does this mean you are a spirit user?" asked Liss.

"No, I don't think so. It felt different from when you do it. I think it has to do with being Shadow-Kissed. Victor said that being in death's grasp leaves a mark on your soul. I think that I went into the land of souls and actually found Dimitri's."

"So is he Shadow-Kissed?" asked Adrian.

"No, I don't think so on that either. I actually died. Dimitri had his soul taken away from him but his body was still alive. I was completely dead. In body and soul."

"Rosemarie," said Kirova, "I would like you to take classes with Ms. Cormack like your friends do. We need to see what you can do with your powers. You may be able to do things we can't. And they may come in handy."

I really didn't want to take those classes, but I might as well. I had been watching Adrian and Lissa do it for a while now. Might as well join them. "Ok. I'll do it."

When we left Kirova's office it was past curfew. We split up at the quad. Eddie and I were walking back to our building. The trip had wore us all out. We were ready for some rest. We were almost to the door when it happened. I cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"Rose, are you okay?" I could barely hear Eddie beside me.

The pain in my head got worse and then I blacked out.

_I was in the land with the souls. This time I was able to see their faces. I didn't know many of them. I spotted Lissa's family and ran over to them._

"_Rose," It was just a murmur. It looked like here they could actually talk. On earth they couldn't. "Join us, Rose. You should be here with us." They started to come towards me. I wasn't liking this._

"_No!" I screamed. "I want to live."_

Just as they were about to touch me, I woke up. I was panting hard. Dimitri, Eddie, and Dr. Olendzki were at the foot of the bed. I was in the med clinic. Eddie or Dimitri must have carried me here.

"Rose," said Dimitri. He looked relieved.

Dr. Olendzki walked up to me. She pointed that annoying light of hers into my eyes. "How do you feel, Rose? You just woke up out of a coma."

"Coma! How long have I been out?"

"A couple of days."

"I wasn't in a coma! I was in the land with the souls. I had the same headache that I got last time I went there and then I _was_ there. Oh God. It was terrifying. This time I could actually see their faces and hear them. I had ran over to Lissa's family. They were trying to get me to stay there with them and die like I should have. They were about to touch me when I woke up."

Dr. Olendzki was trying hard to hide another Rose-is-crazy-look.

"Believe her," said Dimitri. "From everything that has happened, it must be true. She said she went there and retrieved my soul. She described the same thing about that to Headmistress Kirova. She's not crazy and it's not stress. It's powers from being Shadow-Kissed." Dr. Olendzki looked stunned. Like she couldn't believe what was just said.

"Um, ok, Rose. You can go. Just be careful."

Dimitri and I walked out together. As soon as we were alone he asked, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?! If so, it's working. A coma! I saw you when you fell. I came over and you were barely breathing. I rushed you to the clinic and Dr. Olendzki tells me you're in a coma. She said that being in a coma could cause brain damage from the lack of oxygen. Do you know how scared I was?" Dimitri had stopped in front of me. He rested his hands on my shoulders. It surprised me he would do this in public. I looked around but no one was in sight. It was almost noon.

"No. And I couldn't help it. Eddie and I were walking back to our dorm and it just happened."

"Oh Roza." He bent down and kissed my forehead. He jerked back. He must have just realized we were in the middle of the school. It may be noon, but someone may be watching. We continued walking. When we got to my dorm he said, "Goodnight, Roza. Try to stay safe for tonight please."

"'Kay. You stay safe, too. And please don't turn Strigoi on me."

"You got it."

"Night."

"So," I said to Adrian the next day. "Looks like were cousins. Weird." I laughed.

"Yep." He didn't look too happy about this fact. Apparently he still had a thing for me. "I bet you're thrilled to be the only granddaughter of Tatiana."

"I'm the happiest teen alive," I said acting like I was totally thrilled. It made him laugh. "Oh, I can't wait 'til Christmas! We'll all have to get together. And maybe we can have dinner in her castle and drink tea with our pinkies sticking out." Still sarcastic.

"She's not that bad," he said.

"She's a bitch." He cracked up laughing again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A month and a half later it was finally time for graduation. At school we had figured out that Ibrahim was a spirit user. I had happened to ask him what he specialized in and he said he didn't. Boy did Lissa blow up. She had found another spirit user. He didn't know anything about spirit. He never tried. He had been working with Lissa and Adrian since they found out. We didn't find any new powers with me. The books about Anna didn't say anything about Shadow-Kissed powers. After a couple of weeks we decided we weren't going to find anything so I just went back to guarding.

Dimitri and I had been closer than ever. When we were in the same room as each other we had to remember who and where we were. If we weren't careful we would end up touching each other unconsciously. Sometimes during training we would end up making out and then catch ourselves. Someone could easily walk into the gym and rat us out.

I was sitting in the room where the Guardians meet. All novices who were graduating today were to report here. The Guardians were sitting on the left side of the room and us on the right. We were getting called in alphabetical order to go up and swear and get our promise marks. Alberta stood in the front having the students swear to her. Kirova stood beside her. Behind them sat Lionel. He was sitting on a stool and had one in front of him so he could do our tattoos. In front of him sat Mark Handler. Robert Harper was swearing to Alberta. I was next in line.

"Rosemarie Hathaway," called Kirova.

I walked up to the stand. "Do you swear that you will always protect Moroi no matter who you are guarding? Do you swear that you will do everything in your power to save them? Do you swear that you will always put Moroi before yourself and other Dhampirs?" asked Alberta.

"I swear that I will always protect Moroi no matter who I am guarding. I swear that I will do everything in my power to save them. I swear that I will always put Moroi before myself and other Dhampirs."

"Congratulations Rosemarie Hathaway. You are now a Moroi Guardian." People applauded.

I walked back to Lionel "How's it going Rose?"

"Good. How are you?"

"I'm good. I guess I'll be seeing you later so you can get your _molnija_ marks."

"Yep."

"Okay. You're done. You can go back and take your seat again."

"Thanks. See yah."

When everyone had their marks Alberta made her speech then said, "Congratulations St. Vladimir's Vampire Academy Graduates!" Everyone cheered.

The room cleared out and everyone left to head toward the gym. We were going to see which Moroi we were going to be guarding. Us newly marked Guardians were sitting in the bleachers. The Moroi were standing in two lines behind Alberta. Some Guardians who were going to be Guardians for the Moroi sat to the right of our group. The rest of them stood to the side of Alberta. Dimitri sat with the guardians in the bleachers. Then it was Lissa's turn to tell which Guardians she got.

"My Guardians who will guard me with their lives are Guardian Hathaway and Guardian Castile."

Royal Moroi got to have two guardians. They didn't have to but it was recommended. Eddie and I stood up and walked to Lissa. We went and sat in the bleachers on the far side of the room with the already chosen Guardians and their Moroi.

Later on it was Christian's turn. "My Guardian who will guard me with his life is Guardian Belikov." They came over and sat by us.

When everyone had been chosen and seated, the Guardians, Alberta, and Kirova walked over to stand in front of us. "Your lives are about to begin. You Moroi will be going off to do jobs and to go off to college. And you Guardians will be going with them. You will guard them and blend in with your surroundings. Good Luck to you all. You may go off to start your lives as adults.

Talking exploded. "We're free!" I said to Lissa.

"I know! Isn't awesome. We can finally leave school. We did it." She gave me a hug.

Our little family exchanged hugs with each other. We were all just so happy that things worked out.

"Okay, I have to go make a visit to Lionel to get seven _molnija_ marks."

"The student surpasses the teacher," said Dimitri.

I left the gym to go back to the Guardians building. Not many people were here this time. Thank goodness. I didn't need an audience. It was bad enough that I had to get the marks. The only ones attending were Lionel and me of course, Alberta, Stan, and Dimitri.

Lionel _tsked_. "Wow. Nine marks before your nineteen. Impressive."

"She's going to be one of the best," said Alberta. "And she actually has killed more Strigoi than that. She has a _molnoka _mark. She and Christian killed around half of what attacked the elementary.

"Oh, yah. Can't forget that. See. You're on your way to greatness, Rose. Princess Vasilisa is lucky to have you guarding her."

A few hours later we had all of our stuff packed up and ready to go. We were going to take one of the school's private jets to go to the Royal Court. We said our goodbyes and took off. Of course Dimitri and Christian were coming with us. But they weren't the only ones. Ibrahim and Adrian were coming, too.

On the plane Ibrahim and Adrian sat across from Dimitri. Dimitri sat in front of Lissa and Christian. Eddie and I were sitting across from them. When we were in the air Dimitri said, "Rose, I think we should tell them."

"Tell us what," asked Adrian.

"_Tell_ them?" I asked. Dimitri nodded. "Um, okay guys," I said after a few minutes of silence. Everyone sat there patiently. "Um, Dimitri and I are going out," I said uncomfortingly. The only ones that didn't look shocked were Lissa and Adrian.

"You're, wait, you're going out," asked Christian. I nodded. He turned to Dimitri. He had a soft smile on his face and he nodded, too. "How long? Why are you just now telling us?"

"Well, we couldn't tell you at school. If we did I would have been in big trouble and Dimitri would have gotten fired," I said.

"How long has this been going on?" asked Eddie.

"We have only been dating for a couple of months now, but we have cared for each other since Rose and Lissa came back after they ran away," said Dimitri.

Christian turned to look at Lissa. Seeing she wasn't shocked by this piece of information he said, "Why didn't you tell me? You've known about this haven't you?"

"I didn't figure it out until Dimitri got captured and I saw Rose's reaction in the chapel. She didn't tell me either. I had to put the pieces together."

"Hey everyone knows now at least," I said.

Adrian looked disappointed. He still had that crush on me. I tried to change the subject. "I guess I'm going to see my grandmother. Lucky me," I said sarcastically.

"Queen Tatiana's not that bad," objected Adrian.

"With the last conversation we had, she didn't make a very good impression."

"What happened?" asked Lissa.

"Remember how I told you that she praised me for what I did?" She nodded. "Well, that's not what happened." I took a deep breath. "Ok, now work with me here. Remember, I kept this a secret to protect you and Christian. The queen said that she didn't want you and Christian to be together. She said that she wanted you to marry Adrian." That shocked everyone. "She also said she didn't want a slutty alcoholic like me protecting you. The last Dragomir. And then she accused me of going out with Adrian." I turned to look at Adrian. "That rumor is getting on my nerves. If it's not that then I'm hearing that I'm pregnant with our love child." I made a face, then got back to my story. "She told me to stay away from Adrian and that I couldn't be your guardian."

"What!" exclaimed Lissa. "She can't do that. I can date who ever I want! And you _are_ my guardian! You're not an slutty alcoholic, either!"

"I was just as shocked when she told me that." I said outraged. "She said she heard rumors about me and knows about my past. Last time I got drunk was when I drank them drinks at the spa at the ski resort. And the only reason I got drunk off of those was because I didn't think they were that strong."

"And you're still a virgin. You may have been with a lot of guys in your past but you're not a slut. And not to long ago we were talking about how we were surprised that you would be a senior and a virgin and I lost my virginity before you." I probably had guilt written all over my face. "You're not a virgin are you?" asked Lissa in disbelief.

I shook my head. "I would rather not talk about that with everyone here if you don't mind.

Lissa looked between Dimitri and me. Ibrahim gave me a look that said_ 'we're going to have a talk'._ Christian burst out laughing.

"What's so funny," I asked.

"I just can't believe that _you_ have been a virgin until recently. After all the rumors I've heard about you, and all the guys I have seen you with over the years, it's just hard for me to believe."

I glared at him. "Smartass. I'm pretty sure you didn't lose your virginity either until not to long ago. About a couple of months ago."

"Yah but I'm _me_ and you're _you_. We both know you are more social than I am. Especially with the opposite gender. And what to do you know about my romantic life?"

I looked at Lissa then back to him again. "Because it's kinda hard to block out Lissa's mind when I'm asleep. With her emotions it's not that hard to figure out."

"Can we get back on the queen subject?" asked Eddie, looking uncomfortable. "Was there anything else she said?"

"Nope. That's about it. Hey Dimitri," I said abruptly. "What's the matter? You look a little upset." He looked like he was ticked off about something but I didn't know what.

"I'm fine." To everyone else I'm sure he did look fine. But I knew him better than that.

"Don't you give me that. Something's the matter with you."

"The queen has no right to control any of you like that. We are our own people. She controls the laws. We can date, marry, and have who ever as our guards. She's getting too big of a head with being queen."

"Want to here something funny? She said that Adrian would never be with a Dhampir and her secret lover is one! He works at the spa. Lissa got him to give me a pedicure." Lissa and I cracked up laughing.

They all looked astonished which made us laugh harder.

"Seriously?!" exclaimed Eddie.

"Seriously," said Lissa. "He's really tall and muscular."

"Oh, and we can't forget. He's a blood whore! When he was giving me a pedicure I saw the bite marks. I couldn't believe it." I started laughing again.

At that everyone had to laugh. Adrian and Ibrahim looked a little uncomfortable considering Tatiana was a close relative, but they still laughed. After that we all had our own little conversations.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A few hours we arrived at the Royal Court. Dimitri and I got off together holding hands. It was a little strange showing our relationship in public. I had gotten use to keeping it private. As soon as we stepped foot off the plane we were in Guardian mode. Eddie and I went behind Lissa and Dimitri went behind Christian. The same guard that had let me pass by when I went to see Mia greeted us. Guardian Jameson. The Guardians were wearing their uniforms. Black pants, white shirt, and a black blazer.

They led us to the residential rooms. Lissa and I were sharing a room, as were the boys. Ibrahim and Adrian were staying somewhere else. Probably with the queen. They left us as soon as we got to our rooms.

The rooms were bigger than a suite. Two bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, living room, and dining room. It was _huge!_ They already had furniture, food, and supplies there for us. The closets were heavenly. Walk in ones. Lissa and I had a field day. We no longer had to worry about where we would fit out shoes.

"It's like a mansion!" I said.

"I know! Isn't it just gorgeous? I could get use to this."

"Oh, yah!"

Later, we went to visit the boys. They had a room across from ours. They were sitting in front of the flat screen in the living room. Dimitri was in his room organizing his things. The others had just thrown their stuff in the middle of their bedroom floors.

"Hey, lazy asses? Ever heard of cleaning up after yourselves?"

"We'll get to it later, miss priss," said Christian.

Lissa went to sit beside him on the couch. I went into Dimitri's room. He was just putting a shirt on a hanger. I shut the door behind me.

"Hey," I said lovingly, wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a kiss. He kissed me back. We pulled apart out of breath.

"Hello," he said with smile. "What would you say to a walk later. We can have Eddie keep tabs on Lissa and Christian for a bit. It won't be long. Thirty minutes tops. I just need to talk to you for a bit. What do you say?"

"I think that sounds wonderful. Let me go clean up and tell Liss and we can go." I pecked his lips and walked out.

"Hey. Dimitri and I are going to go on a walk for about half an hour. Can you handle Christian and Lissa for a bit. We won't be long."

"Sure," said Eddie. "When 'you guys going out?

"Well, I'm gonna go shower and then we're going to go."

"'Kay."

"Hey, slutty alcoholic?" I locked my jaw. Lissa slapped the back of Christian's head. "Try not to come back totally wasted, okay?" He snickered.

I slammed the door behind me. The shower was very relaxing after being on a plane all day. When I got out I had just enough time to put on some make up. I didn't normally get to do that. I wore one of my sweaters that Lissa bought for me when we went dress shopping in Missoula. I kept my hair down. Shower included, it took about thirty minutes to get ready. I went and knocked on the door. Dimitri opened it. He gave me a smile and we walked out.

"So, what do you want to talk about." I was worried. What if he told me that he didn't want to be with me?

He stopped right in front of me. He lightly rested his hands on my shoulders. "I have a question to ask you and I want you to take me seriously and consider this. He reached into his back pocket and brought out a black velvet box. He let go of my shoulders to take my hand. He got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a ring. "Rosemarie Elizabeth Hathaway… I love you with all of my heart and soul. I would do anything to save you and keep you happy. When I'm with you I feel whole. When you're away I feel empty inside. Like a part of me is missing. And it's my heart. I have given it to you, Rose. When you were in that coma it made me realize that we should be enjoying all the time we can together. So many things have tried to keep us apart but we keep coming right on back to loving each other. I would like to take your hand in marriage so we can enjoy our lives together. Will you marry me, Rose?"

"Yes." It ended up coming out as a whisper. I was filled with so much emotion. "I will marry, Dimitri. And you have my heart as well. I love you more than life. I would be willing to give up so much to be with you."

He slid the ring on my finger before standing up too kiss me with so much love that it made my chest squeeze. "Thank you," he whispered against my lips. He kissed away the joyful tears that had fallen down my face. "Come on, let's head back. Let's go tell them the good news."

He wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked. I had my head resting on his chest. We were a little ways from the rooms when the three musketeers showed up. There was something wrong.

"Strigoi attacked the barrier!" they said simultaneously.

"What!" I exclaimed. I was already in the mode to protect Lissa and Christian. "What? How?" Dimitri and Eddie were in position, too. We were paying well attention to our surroundings as we moved.

"They have humans who went and staked multiple spots on the barrier," said Eddie. "Strigoi are flooding into the place." Just as he said that I spotted two Strigoi. They were headed directly in our direction.

"Protect them," I shouted to Eddie.

I threw myself at the first Strigoi. I already had my stake ready for the kill. The Strigoi wasn't a newly turned one. If I had to guess I would pin him as about seventy. I drove the stake toward his heart but missed. He was faster. He grabbed my arm and pulled it behind my back. Pulling as far back as he could. The Strigoi was so concentrated on me that he didn't see Eddie stake him.

More Strigoi were coming. We had to get Lissa and Christian out of there. Some Guardians were coming from the opposite direction to assist us. Two went to help Dimitri protect Lissa and Christian and two came to help Eddie and me. There were about twenty-five Strigoi attacking us.

I was able to stake five Strigoi without difficulty before I met a real challenge. This one was bent on getting to Chris and Liss. I was _so _not going to allow that to happen. This Strigoi was _at least_ twice the age of the first one I fought. He was able to get in a few good swipes to my neck and chest but I barely felt it. I was too high on adrenalin.

I was able to stake him before I got another strong headache, but as soon as it came it left. I felt weightless all of a sudden. Another Strigoi came my way. Her smile looked triumphant. _Idiot. She don't know who she's messing with._ I took my stake and shoved it in her heart. Her eyes widened with surprise as she fell to the ground. I felt a Strigoi behind me. I turned around and what I saw was unbelievable. Christian, Dimitri and Lissa were staring at me and my unmoving body on the ground. No, not me. The stake in my hand. _What the fuck?! _ I looked down at myself and what I saw was even more shocking. I looked exactly like the souls that I saw the last time I had a black out, except I had a stake in my hand.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The Strigoi were getting closer to Liss. No time to worry about me. I had to protect my friends. I staked the closest one with no problem. When the other two saw their partner fall they seemed shocked. Then, just like Dimitri, Liss, and Christian they stared at the stake. They both ran toward me. They didn't know what to do exactly, since they couldn't touch the stake but they were going to figure out what was up. I was able to hit them pretty easily and when I did, it distracted them enough so I could stake them.

Dimitri and Eddie were finishing up the last of the Strigoi. The other Guardians were leaving to go help others. Lissa and Christian were crouched down by my body.

"What the hell," I tried to say, but nothing came out.

When the boys finished off the last of them they came beside my body, too.

"What happened," asked Lissa. She had tears in her eyes. I was wanting to know the same thing. "Dimitri. She's barely breathing. What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I think it's like what happened last time when this happened. When she woke up she said she was in a dark land full of souls during the period of time she was like this." _Not hardly!_ Dimitri looked seriously worried. He picked up my body and started to carry me off toward the hospital wing.

Then I got it. They couldn't see me like they couldn't Mason. But maybe since I was able to pick up the stake they could feel me. I walked up in front of Dimitri and squeezed him hard. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at my body.

"What's wrong?" asked Christian. Even though he is mostly a smartass and usually looked smug, he now looked a little shaken.

"Nothing," Dimitri said. "I thought I just felt her move. I guess not." He started walking again.

I tried to get Eddie's attention. I went over to him and smacked the side of his face. He ought to feel that.

"Ow," he said. "I swear my face feels like I just got slapped." He started to rub his cheek.

"I think your losing your mind more and more each day Castile," joked Christian.

I walked over and decided to punch Christian in the face, too. He deserved it. This was not the time to be joking around.

"Christian please be nice right now," Lissa said with sad puppy dog eyes at the same time that Christian said, "Shit."

I walked over and took Lissa's hand. Her eyes went wide and she lifted her hand up staring at it with my fingers still entwined. I pulled her over into the dirt. Still keeping hold of her hand I grabbed a stick and started to right in the dirt.

"What does it say," asked Dimitri from behind us. He was still carrying my body.

"It says," said Lissa slowly. "_Guyz…Idk waz up…I need u … 2 help me. R__._"

"Rose!" Dimitri said. "What's going on? Why are you out of your body and why can't we see you?" he asked frantically.

Lissa, "_I__dk …membr with Mason …how u … couldn't c him …that's with … me now …except I'm alive._"

They were all pretty shocked now. They probably thought they were all crazy or this was just a dream.

"Rose," said Dimitri. Taking charge. "Take Lissa's hand and come with us to the hospital wing. We need to have your body checked out and see if we can figure out what's going on."

Lissa stuck out her hand. It hit my chest. She brought her hand farther back. I backed up and grabbed her hand, doing as I was told. In the hospital wing there were Moroi and Guardians getting cuts and other injuries healed. Apparently they had fought off all of the other Strigoi. All the patients were in this one room. It was just a long hall of beds and machinery. A nurse came over and guided Dimitri to a bed. He laid me down gently.

"What happened?" she asked.

"We don't know," said Dimitri. She was in the middle of fighting when this happened." I understood why he didn't tell her that I was standing right there beside her holding Lissa's hand and that I was a ghost. She would think they were all crazy.

She got out a stethoscope and that thing that they check your blood pressure with. First, she listened to my breathing and then she checked my blood pressure. She shook her head.

"It's not good whatever it is. If she had a more normal heart rate and breathing I would say she was just in shock. But I don't think that's it. I think she may be in a coma."

Lissa burst into tears. She had forgotten that I was right there holding her hand. She let go and buried her head in Christian's chest. He inconspicuously stuck out his hand for me to grab. I took hold of it and squeezed. After the nurse hooked my body up to a heart monitor she left us alone to go check on other patients. Dimitri went and retrieved a piece of paper and a pen for me to write on. He put them on the table beside the bed.

"'Kay Rose. Talk to us," said Eddie.

"She can't," said Dimitri. "That's what the paper and pen are for."

"_I am so FREAKED__,_" I wrote. "_I don't know what's going on__._"

"It's going to be okay, Rose," said Christian, still holding my other hand. "We'll figure out a way to get you back into your body. We promise."

"Yah," Lissa said, "We'll make it through this. I think it has to do with you being Shadow-Kissed, though. Don't you think?"

"_I think you are right. This is exactly like when I see ghosts. No one else can see them. And I can't talk right now, either. The only thing that's different is that I am able to touch you guys and you are able to feel it. With Mason, he couldn't__._"

"Don't worry, Roza. It'll be okay. Let's just think here for a while."

He went and sat down beside my body. Everyone else sat down, too. I went and sat in his lap. I'm guessing he was able to feel my body since he wrapped his arms around me tight. I reached out to pull the hair out of my face. As soon as my hand touched my face I snapped back into my body.

My eyes flew open as I dragged in a ragged breath. The monitor behind me went wild as my heart raced in my chest. I was breathing frantically. My friends rushed to my side asking a million and one questions. My head was a jumbled mess enough as it was. I was starting to get a headache. A real one. They were still talking all at once.

"Shut the hell up," I said annoyed. Silence. "Good. I'm fine, but I'm like freaked out right now as I'm sure you can guess. I don't know what happened."

Just then my father and Adrian walked into the room.

"Rose. Are you alright? We ran into a Guardian who fought with you guys and he said that you were unconscious. He said it didn't even look like you were breathing."

"I'm fine. Honestly." I brought my hands up to cover my face. "By the way, can someone get me an aspirin. I'm getting a headache," I said without moving my hands.

"Sure," said Eddie. "And I'll go tell that nurse that you woke up."

"What happened?" asked Adrian.

"I had an out of body moment," I laughed a humorless laugh. "Literally." Ibrahim and Adrian looked confused. "I was _literally_ out of my body. I was standing there looking at my body lying on the ground back there. I got one of my headaches again and then it was gone. As soon as it came it was gone. I felt weightless and free. Like I could do anything. Once I staked the Strigoi I turned around and there was my body. Lissa and Christian were sitting there with it and I was right in front of them and they didn't know it. Speaking of stakes, we'll have to go get mine out of that chick's body. I kinda freaked out when I saw my body and I just left the stake there."

"We'll get it later," Lissa said. "But are you sure all right?"

"Yah, I'm fine. I just have a headache now. Not the same as the one I had before, though," I added when all of their eyes widened.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," said Ibrahim.

"Thanks guys. You can relax now. Take a seat. As soon as Eddie gets back with the nurse and she says I'm okay, I plan to be out of here."

Eddie came back with the nurse and some Ibuprofen. She said that I could go but they should check on me every couple of hours. When we were outside Dimitri and I trailed behind the group.

"Hey, is it all right if I come over and sleep on your couch tonight? Christian's spending the night with Lissa, and believe me, I do not want to be there for that and the walls are not sound proof."

"No you cannot sleep on our couch." I looked at him in surprise. He was grinning. "But you can sleep with me tonight."

"You got yourself a deal."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next morning I woke up with my head on Dimitri's bare chest and my hand on his shoulder. Dimitri's arms were wrapped around my bare torso. He was still asleep. I couldn't help but to look at his face. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. His guards were down and he looked so vulnerable. He slowly blinked open his eyes and looked at me. He smiled and kissed me tenderly.

"Morning future Mrs. Belikov."

"Morning to you, too, Mr. Belikov. Mmmmm," I sighed. "I could get use to waking up every morning in your arms."

"So could I. We better get ready. You and I have jobs to do now."

"'Kay."

. We both dressed in Guardian Black. I kissed him goodbye and walked over to my room. Lissa and Christian were sitting beside each other on the couch drinking coffee. Through our bond I could tell that Lissa was angry about something.

"Hey guys." I walked over and got a cup of coffee. "Hey Liss. Can you look at my hand. It's really hurting me today. I think I may have broke something."

When she looked at my hand I felt her anger fade. But I ended up taking it. She squealed. "Oh my gawd! He proposed?!" I nodded. She stood up and grabbed my hands. We started to jump and down in place. "When?"

"Last night. We were on our way to tell you guys when the Strigoi attacked." We were still jumping in place. Christian laughed and came over and gave me a hug.

"You have got to let me do your wedding."

"It's not going to be a big thing, Liss. Just close family and friends. It will probably be only you guys, Eddie, and whoever Dimitri wants to invite."

"Cheer up, Rose. You seem upset. Have you set a date yet?" Lissa was very excited.

"No. We haven't decided anything, Lissa. Gosh. Like I said we just got engaged last night. The Strigoi attacked right after that. And as soon as I got home I went to bed."

"We'll take care of everything." She grabbed Christian's hand. He didn't look all that excited to be a wedding planner. I laughed at his expression.

"You seem so happy someone may think you're the one getting married," I laughed.

"I'm just so excited. Uh oh. Are you going to tell your mom and dad?"

"Of course we will but I'm going to prolong that moment for as long as I can."

"I want to be there when you tell your mom. I want to make sure you and Dimitri's death's get video taped."

"Can you turn the tape into the police and then video tape her arrest. I may want to come back and watch it. Then, I'll haunt her in jail for as long as I can."

"I would be more than happy to."

"Thanks. I have a feeling that that day will be soon. Ibrahim's here and if Mom figures out that I know who he is and he knows me then I'm sure she will find a way to get here. If Ibrahim hasn't already told her about it. Isn't that going to be a nice family reunion."? I shook my head.

"I wouldn't want to be you right now," Christian said.

"It'll all be fine," said Liss.

"If you say so. Eddie, Dimitri and I have to go get our _molnija_ marks later."

"How many do you get?" asked Lissa.

"Ten," I said nonchalantly.

"Ten! Wow. You're going to have as many as your mom in no time. You almost killed half of them! I'm so proud of you." She hugged me.

"So what's on today's agenda?"

"Well, we are suppose to meet with the Queen to discuss college."

"What are you going to major in?"

"I'm going to major in teaching and Christian's going to specialize in Culinary Science. But the question is, what are you going to major in?"

"Well, I guess I'll be majoring in teaching like you."

"What were you wanting to major in?"  
"I don't know," I said. "Never thought about it. I just always knew I was going to be your Guardian. Culinary Science, huh? You can make one mean meatloaf that's for sure. He wraps it in bacon. That sounds good. How does bacon and eggs sound to you guys?

"Sure."

After breakfast I took some leftovers over to Eddie and Dimitri while Christian and Lissa got dressed.

"Congratulations," Eddie said when he opened the door.

"For what?"

"You're getting married! God, get with it today."

"Oh! Thanks. I'm excited. Guess what we're all doing today."

"What?" he asked.

"Lissa and Christian are to meat with my grandmother," he snorted, "to discuss college plans. We are going to be taking teaching classes and Dimitri and Christian are taking Culinary Science. Speaking of food, I brought you guys some. I told Christian that he could make a mean meatloaf and it made me crave bacon."

"Bacon?"

"Yah," I said, "He uses a lot of different meats for his and then wraps bacon around it. You should try it. It's delicious. I made this though. Bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy."

"Sweet. I'm starving."

I went over and sat on the couch beside Dimitri. They had been watching my favorite soap opera.

I handed him his breakfast. "Here you go. Still nice and hot."

"Thank you," said Dimitri.

"I hope you don't mind," started Dimitri, "But when your father dropped by this morning I told him the good news. I figured I could save you on that one."

"Yah, that's fine. I'm actually glad you told him. Saves me one parent to tell. What was he doing here?"

"He came to invite us to a formal dinner tonight at 6:30 sharp. He said that all of us were invited."

"Oh, ok. That was nice of him."

About half way through the show Lissa and Christian finally made it over.

"Did Zoey have the baby yet?" Christian inquired.

"Yep. You just missed it. They named her Charlotte," Eddie informed them.

"Did they reveal who the father yet?" Liss asked.

"Sssh. They're fixing to."

We continued to watch T.V. until it was time to go. They wanted to stop by the feeders before going to visit the queen. I was the far guard today. We were just outside of the building's door when I noticed someone or something moving way too fast in our direction. I turned to get into my defensive position. When I finally realized what it was, it scared me to death. It was my mother. And boy was she mad. Her face was burning with rage and she was headed right towards Dimitri.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

"You're getting married!" she screeched.

The group turned around at my mother's outburst. I was at Dimitri's side in a flash. He put his arm around my shoulder comfortingly. She glared at it.

"You! What do you think you're doing marrying my daughter? She's eighteen and your twenty-five. You were her teacher and mentor. I knew she liked you from the day that she figured out you were missing, but for you to like _her. _Your student. Are you insane?!"

"Guardian Hathaway," Dimitri was calm. He was in control of himself. Something I needed to learn. "I love your daughter. I love her with all my heart and soul. I want to marry her"

"What about being a Guardian," she asked me. "Are you just going to walk away from Vasilisa so you can live this fake romance of yours?"

"I love Dimitri. And I'm not turning my back on Lissa. I can be married to Dimitri and still be a Guardian. Nowhere in the rules does it say that a Guardian can't be married."

"You aren't marrying him. Now get your hands off of her!"

Dimitri and I held our ground. It was time I finally stood up to my mother. I was eighteen and there was nothing she could do to stop me from doing what I wanted. I fought hard to keep my control. If I were to snap I could possibly do something I would regret.

"Mother," I said blankly. All I could manage was a dull, flat tone. "I am of the legal age. You are not the boss of me anymore. It's my life. If I want to marry Dimitri then I will. I plan to stay Lissa's Guardian. Nothing is going to stop me. Dimitri and I love each other and we want to get married."

"You want to get married? You want to live out this fantasy of yours? Fine. You are dead to me. I don't ever want to see you again." With that she walked away. It would probably be the last time I would see her as my mother.

A single tear ran down my cheek before a gained control I had never been close to my mother but ever since the Spokane incident we had been a little closer. I didn't think it would hurt this much to be disowned by her. I started walking back towards the group. Dimitri caught up quickly and put his are around my waist. Lissa walked up to me and gave me a hug.

"It's going to be okay, Rose," she whispered in my ear. Then, she let go and we continued walking toward the feeders.

While Christian, Dimitri and Lissa fed Eddie and I talked.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Eddie was acting the big brother role again. That's what I liked about.

"Yah. I'm fine. It's just a lot to take in. I knew she would be mad when she found out but I didn't think she would disown me. Do you think it would have been easier if she would have found out from Dimitri and I?"

"I don't know, Rose. Maybe. Don't worry, though. She only said those things because she's upset. People say things they don't mean when they are angry. Just give her some time to cool down and to let it sink in."

"I don't know, Eddie. I think she was serious. But it doesn't matter really. She was never there in my life anyway so I won't be losing much. I guess it's just the thought of not having a mom that upset me. I'm fine now."

"'Kay. I just worry about you sometimes. You're like a sister to me, Rose.

"I feel the same about you. You're like a protective older brother. Thanks, Ed."

"No prob."

Dimitri, Eddie, and I were standing guard while Liss and Christian talked to Tatiana. I cracked a smile when I replayed what happened when we walked into the room.

Tatiana greeted us individually. Everyone responded 'You Majesty'. Well, almost everyone.

"Hello, Grandmother." I'm pretty sure it was Dimitri who gasped. "You look shocked, Grandmother. Are you well?" I tried my hardest not to sound sarcastic but I couldn't help the grinned that flashed across my face.

Tatiana regained her cool. "Guardian Hathaway. I have no idea what you are talking about. And you are to address me as 'Your Majesty' or 'Queen Tatiana.'"

"Oh, I think you know good and well what I am talking about. Why shouldn't I be able to call you Grandmother? It is what you are. I mean, my father, Ibrahim, I'm sure calls you Mother and Adrian calls you Aunt. So why can I not call you Grandmother?"

"You shall stop speaking this nonsense and shall speak to formally or I'll have to ask you to leave the room."

I shut up and started walking toward my post. I couldn't stop the smug smile on my face. Dimitri shot me a look that said 'Are you crazy?!' before walking to his position.

Back in the present they were telling the Queen what classes they wanted to major in. They continued to talk college while we kept watch. I was only half paying attention. My mind kept wandering to the night before when I left my body. It must have been from being Shadow-Kissed. But why were they able to feel me and why was I able to pick up objects? It just didn't add up. I would definitely have to do some more research on St. Vladimir and Shadow-Kissed Anna. I wasn't able to find a whole lot on Anna but since we were at the Royal Court I'm sure they had original copies and a bigger selection of books on them.

Christian and Lissa wanted to go get lattes after they finished up. I let Dimitri know where I was going then headed off towards the library. The library was a pretty good size. I went straight to the back of the library. It's where they kept a lot of books of our history stored. I walked up to the counter with an elderly Dhampir sitting behind it.

"Hello," she said kindly. "What can I do for you today, Guardian Hathaway?" It shocked me that she knew my name but it shouldn't have.

"Yes. I need some books out of the restricted section about Shadow-Kissed Anna and Vladimir. Preferably ones with a lot of information about Anna."

She looked at me skeptically. "I'm sorry but you have to be a Royal or have one's permission to see those."

"Oh, I do. I am actually here for Princess Vasilisa. She sent me here to pick up some books for her research. She's trying to get an understanding of herself. Shadow-Kissed Anna seemed to play a big role in Vladimir's life and she believes there is something more about her."

"Oh, ok." I was a very good liar. I could almost fool anyone. "Follow me." She led me into one of the last rows in the room. "You should be able to find everything that the Princess needs. They should be all the way down these two columns of shelves." With that she walked back to her desk.

I was about to give up when I finally found a very promising book 'The Life and History of Anna Rockwell'. It was perfect. Hopefully it would give some helpful information on her. I found the gang lounging in our living room.

"Rose! What do you think you were doing today? Were you trying to get into trouble?" asked Lissa.

"What?" I asked innocently. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Didn't do anything wrong?" Eddie exclaimed. "You insulted the Queen. Not that I would not love to do the same. But jeeze. You can't just call her Grandmother."

"I thought she was going to shit herself," laughed Christian. "It was a Kodak moment. I wished I had a camera. Haha!"

"I just called her what she is. She is my grandmother."

"What are we going to do with you, Rose? What do you have there?" Dimitri asked, gesturing towards my books.

"I figured I needed to do some research on being Shadow-Kissed. After last night, I want to know what can possibly happen. I'm going to go read in my room."

"'Kay," They agreed.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

In the first chapter I learned that the author was Anna's husband. His name was James Rockwell. I had to skip a couple of chapters. I would go back later when I had time. I needed to know about her powers pacifically. About a fourth of a way into the book I found a promising chapter '_Being Shadow-Kissed'._

'_We were being attacked by Strigoi. I was behind, and Anna was in front of Vlad. We were almost finished finishing them off when a Strigoi was too much for Anna. He caught her by surprise and snapped her neck'_ Here I winced. It was a lot like what happed to Mason. _'I continued to fight the Strigoi and out of my peripheral vision I saw Vlad bend down over Anna's body. I was too upset over the loss of my wife to look anymore. I had to avenge her murder._

'_After the Strigoi had been staked and burned I walked over to Anna and Vlad. The most wonderful thing that I had ever seen happened. Vlad had his hand resting on Anna's neck. She started moving her fingers and her eyes fluttered open. Vlad looked weak suddenly. I wanted to be with Anna but Moroi come first. I helped him sit down on the ground. He looked as if he could faint-' _ I stopped here to start skimming.

'As time went on, Anna and I continued to kill Strigoi. The more she killed, the more strange things happened. After a couple of months, Anna said that she was seeing her brother who had died when she was a little girl. I first thought that something was seriously the matter with Anna until she proved that the ghosts were real. The more time that passed the more she was able to do with the ghosts. Two months after the first sighting and the ghosts were able to talk to her. Then, she was able to touch and feel them.

'_Then there was another attack. We were fighting when I saw a blank look come into Anna's eyes. She continued fighting but I knew something was the matter. Her stake was floating a couple of yards in front of her. It was attacking the Strigoi on it's own. I didn't know if it was hers or Vlad's doing but whatever it was it seemed to fight off the Strigoi better. I walked over to Anna to ask if she was all right but she didn't respond. She just stood there staring at nothing in particular. I shook her. Then out of nowhere she sucked in a deep ragged breath like she hadn't been breathing at all. Her face looked panicked._

'"_What just happened," she asked me. "I was just out of my body. I was fighting with my stake while my body was fighting hand to hand combat."_

'_I couldn't answer her question because I didn't know_-' I started skimming again.

A few hours later I walked out of my room dressed formally for dinner. When I walked out the boys were already back and dressed up nicely. I was wearing a long dress that complimented my skin tone. It went about half way down my calf. It was dark blue and it wasn't very tight. I decided I shouldn't wear anything stunning. I only put on eyeliner. I didn't have time to be putting on make up and it was going to be that way for the rest of my life.

Dimitri and I were not on duty tonight. In the dinner hall I recognized my family. My ex-mother, father, grandmother, and some Ivashkovs were attending. My mother didn't even look at me when we entered. Of course, Adrian walked over to join us. I didn't mind. He had a date on his arm. Mia Rinaldi. She looked full of complete joy to be on is arm.

"Ms. Rinaldi. Lord Ivashkov," Dimitri greeted them formally.

Mia nodded in greeting.

"Guardian Belikov. Guardian Hathaway," responded Adrian.

"What are you guys up to?" I asked.

"Nothing much," said Mia. "How about you?"

"The usual Guardian stuff."

Just then the Queen called the dinner to order. "If you would all please be seated we will start the dinner."

Dimitri and I's seats were at the other end of the table near Janine. Ibrahim and Adrian sat on either side of the Queen with their dates. No one paid attention to us. Adrian, Mia, and Ibrahim were too far down the table to talk to so Dimitri and I made conversations with ourselves. Occasionally the Queen would glare my way. Apparently she was still mad from before. After dinner Dimitri and I talked to Adrian and Mia. Later on Ibrahim came over and introduced us to his date, not bothering to say I was his daughter. It didn't surprise me.

My mother left early. Walking right by me and not saying a word. Dimitri and I left soon after. It was my night to take watch while everyone slept. Eddie did last night. After kissing Dimitri goodnight I went and changed into some jogging pants and a t-shirt. I went and sat down in the hallway floor in-between the boys' rooms and ours. I continued reading until late that day when I started to fade in and out of a light sleep.

One Month Later

I had been very weak lately. I guessed it was from staying up late reading books. Dimitri asked one day if I wanted to go to the gym and practice. I was getting pretty good at fighting him. One of us barely won anymore. Most of the time we tied.

We had stopped to talk. Our fights could last hours on end before someone wins. We were standing in the middle of the ring wore out.

"What did you-" But his question was cut off when my world went black.

I woke up some time later in the Royal Court's clinic. The light was low so it wouldn't hurt a Moroi's eyes.

"Roza," Dimitri let out a sigh of relief.

I jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom to puke my guts out. Dimitri came and held my hair while I vomited.

"Damn," I said when I was finished.

"Are you okay?" Dimitri asked.

"Yah, I'm fine. What happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. Come on. Let's go see what Dr. Connor has to say."

The doc was just walking into the room. Dimitri led me back to the bed, eyeing me skeptically.

"How are you feeling Guardian Hathaway?"

"I'm fine now. I don't know what happened. I was just talking to Dimitri when I blacked out. By the way, how long have I been out?"

"You've been out for about four and a half hours."

"Four and a half hours!" I exclaimed, shocked.

"She nodded. "Well I ran some blood tests. This time when you blacked out was different from the last. Last time was like you were in a coma. This time was like you were asleep." She paused, and then continued. "Have you been eating and sleeping okay?"

"Yah, why?"

"Please don't be afraid to tell me the truth. I am just trying to help you. If you are trying to lose weight or something I have other ways to help you even though I don't think you need it."

"Wait. What? You think I'm _starving_ myself?! I'm happy with the way my body looks. And for sleep wise, I've been staying up late to read. Plus, I've been guarding every other night."

"Well, when the tests get back tomorrow then we can see what the problem is. You should try eating and-" I ran off to the bathroom again. Dimitri followed to hold up my hair.

When we returned Dr. Connor looked at me curiously. "Guardian Hathaway? Have you been _with_ any Moroi lately?" The way she said 'with' indicated exactly what she was talking about. She took my shock as a confirmation. "I think you may be pregnant, Rose."


	12. Author's Note

**AN:**

Sorry guys that I have not written in a long time. I have been busy with babysitting and reading other fanfics. I am open to ideas. I basically know what I want to happen but I need ideas to help me get to that point. Thanks for the reviews and reading my story.

Luv yah,

Taylor O.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I would have fallen over if it weren't for Dimitri's hand squeezing my upper arm, hard. We were so _stupid_! I was so use to Dimitri being a Dhampir that it didn't come to mind that we would need protection. I glanced at Dimitri from the corner of me eye. He looked like he was thinking along the same lines. Dr. Connor saw that.

"We'll know for sure tomorrow. Just be careful, eat, and get some sleep," she said.

I was in shock as we walked back to our rooms.

"Rose." I turned to look at Dimitri. "If you are pregnant I want you to know that I will stand by you. I will still marry you if you want to."

"Thanks Dimitri. If I am pregnant this changes nothing. I still want to marry you. Thanks for sticking with me."

"I will always want to be with you, Roza."

Dimitri knocked on my door just as I was fixing to open it then next morning. We had gotten up early to go and visit Dr. Connor. On the way there I had to stop twice to vomit while Dimitri held my hair.

Dimitri and I sat in our seats with our backs ramrod straight.

"Well, are you ready to hear the news," Connor asked as she walked into the room with the results. We nodded. "You're pregnant, Rose. And if you don't mind me asking, do you know when you were impregnated?"

"I would guess about a month and a half ago," Dimitri said in shock. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, Guardian Belikov, it would depend on how many children miss Hathaway will be having."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"From your blood work I would say you were about six weeks and having twins or twelve weeks and only having one child."

_Twins! Oh my goodness!_

"Well I would like to take a ultrasound so we can see. Wait right here and I will be right back."

I turned to stare at Dimitri. He usually had a pretty good mask at hiding his emotions but he was feeling too much shock to be able to conceal it all.

When Dr. Connor returned with the machine she had me lay back. She put a jelly on my stomach that was freezing. I shivered. She gave me an apologetic smile.

"Now we won't be able to see much since your still early in your pregnancy but if you are pregnant with twins then it will be obvious."

She started to move the stick around my stomach. I could hear two off be thrummings. Doc smiled. On the screen I could see two small objects. No, not objects. My babies.

"Twins," Dimitri breathed. Some of the shock had worn off and was replaced with joy. He turned his head from the monitor to smile at me. In that smile was unconditional love. And not just love for me. But for our children.

We arrived at my room about an hour later. The three musketeers were gone. I led Dimitri by the hand to the couch.

"What are we going to tell them?" Dimitri asked. "You know they'll ask."

"Tell us what?" Lissa asked.

I didn't hear the front door open. Christian, Eddie, and Lissa were standing by the front door.

"Ummm." I turned to give Dimitri an anxious look. I'm sure it didn't look like that since I was grinning from ear to ear.

"Tell them," said he, grinning. "I know you want to."

"I'm pregnant!"

Lissa screamed and launched herself into my arms.

"Careful," Dimitri warned.

We didn't listen. We were to busy jumping up and down with glee.

"Scoot over Lissa," Eddie said. "I want to give my sister a hug."

"Do you know what your little monster is going to be?" Christian asked.

I smacked him up the back of the head. "My babies are _NOT_ monsters. And we don't know what they are going to be yet."

Dimitri came up to wrap his arms around my waist as Lissa screamed "Twins!" Dimitri had his hands lying possessively on my stomach. We both nodded. She squealed again.

Eddie asked, "When did you find out?"

"Well Rose fainted during practice yesterday so I took her to the clinic. Dr. Connor said she thought Rose may be pregnant so she took some blood tests we went there this morning and she did and ultrasound."

"When are you due?" Christian asked.

"January."

"What are you going to do? You can't stay my Guardian when you are pregnant."

"I don't know yet. I mean I haven't had time to think about anything yet."

"Rose. I don't want you to hurt my nephews. You should take a vacation or something."

"What makes you think they are boys? 'Cause if you ask me I think that they are a boy and a girl," Eddie said.

"If you say so. What do you think, Christian?"

"Girls."

We continued our conversations for a while when Christian burst out laughing.

"What?" I inquired.

"You haven't told your mother have you? Can I watch? I want to see her beat the crap out of Belikov." He laughed again.

"Why do I need to tell her? I'm disowned. She doesn't need to know."

"Roza, she is your mother. You should tell her no matter what. It would be better for her to hear from us than someone else." He grabbed my hand and pulled me off the couch. "Come on. Let's get it over with now"

We found Janine outside of the guest dorms. She was just fixing to walk upstairs.

"Guardian Hathaway," Dimitri greeted her.

She turned on her heal to face us. "Guardian Belikov. Guardian Hathaway."

"We wanted to tell you something before you heard from someone else." There was a short pause where I could tell Dimitri was a little nervous. "Rose is pregnant with my children."

**AN:**

I know I left you hanging. Sorry I don't write very much. I don't have much time to myself anymore. My friend drags me all over town, babysitting, reading, and everything else that goes on in my life does not leave me much time to do anything else. I will try to right as soon as I can. Please R&R!


	14. Chapter 13

_In this chapter you will get a look in Janine's head. You will also get to learn more about Ibrahim._Chapter 13 JPOV

I was just walking back into my guest room when I saw Rose and Guardian Belikov walking my way.

"Guardian Belikov," said Belikov.

"Guardian Belikov. Guardian Hathaway."

Then words that can never be good came out of his mouth.

"We have something we wanted to tell you before you hear from someone else." Then, even more dreadful words. "Rose is pregnant with my children."

I tried to keep my Guardian mask on but I'm pretty sure I slipped. Pissed, was not the right word for how I felt. It was an understatement. At this point I was glad that I had disowned her.

"After _everything_ that I have told you about the mistake I made of having you, you make the same mistake?!"

Oh, yah. I lost my cool. I was going to slap her but Belikov caught my arm.

"You will _not_ touch Rose. We came here to discuss this in a calm manner. We figured it would be better for you to figure out from us than from gossipers."

"How _can _that make it better? It would be better if she _weren't_ pregnant! You are a disgrace to me. Goodbye Rosemarie."

I was sitting on the couch in my room think about the news Rose told me. My most dominant emotions were disgrace and anger._ 'How could she do this to me? Her actions affect me as well!' _ But another _small_ part of me was full of emotions of joy. _'I was going to be a grandmother.' _

I was also angry with Belikov. How could be so irresponsible. I would expect this kind of thing from Rose, but from him? He was twenty-five years old! He should know right from wrong by now. He was one of the best Guardians here. He was her mentor. He shouldn't be her lover! Now he had her knocked up and her head full of idiotic things that could never happen. He was just using her like Ibrahim used me. When he gets tired of her then he will just through her away.

Ibrahim. Why did Rose have to find him? He was just going to hurt her, too. He never wanted her that's why I left. He had used her to get me to do what he wanted me to.

He made me believe I was in love with him. I gave him everything. I gave him my heart. I'll never forget the day I met him.

I was never a social person. I kept to myself and kept my mind on my guardian training. I was in my senior year of high school. We were having field experience and I was assigned to Ibrahim Ivashkov. He was very attractive. He had very dark skin for a Moroi and dark brown hair that almost looked black. He was about 6'4".

During field experience I gained feelings for him. We started to sneak around. After field experience I was still with him and when I got assigned to him during graduation I almost exploded with the joy I felt.

About a year and a half later we took a public plane to Germany. He had a friend that lived there. We had been staying in Turkey with his father's side of the family. His mother didn't approve of me. She said that her son shouldn't be with a worthless blood whore. We got off the plane and I started looking for our luggage. It ended up getting lost so we didn't have anything. We were going to be staying with his friends for two months.

We went to the mall in the nearest city and got clothes and supplies. It didn't even cross my mind that I would need to buy birth control. About a month and a half later I found out that I was pregnant with Rose. I tried explaining it to Ibrahim but he said that he wanted nothing to do with her or me anymore so he filed for a Guardian exchange.

When Rose was born I figured the least I could do was send him information about her. Every year since I had been sending him copies of her grade reports and pictures. I never got a response and I never expected one.

Now Rose is pregnant with twins. I decided I wasn't going to let Rose go through what I did. It didn't matter what Guardian Belikov said he was going to do. I was going to be there for Rose like my mother wasn't for me. I told her I was pregnant and she disowned me like I did Rose. There was only thing I could do and I wasn't too happy about it. I was going to go apologize.

RPOV

I tried to get a hold of my tears as we went to go find Ibrahim. Dimitri said it wouldn't be as bad as it was with my mother but he still deserved to know since he was my father. He was staying near the queen according to the receptionist at the front desk. I got a hold of my emotions and Dimitri knocked on the door.

"Good evening you two. What can I do for you?"

"We have some important news to tell you, Ibrahim," I said.

"Okay, come on in and have a seat."

"I don't know you very well but we thought that it would be better for you to hear from us since you _are_ my father." We were sitting on the love seat across from Ibrahim who was sitting in the armchair. "Okay, here it goes. I am going to be marrying Dimitri and I am going to be having twins."

**AN:**

Yes. I know. This was a short chapter but I need your help or something. I know what I want to happen next but I need some help with his emotions. I need some help with his emotions then I will be doing a POV from Ibrahim. Thanks for reading. Sorry if there are mistakes. I didn't do a very thorough grammar check and I don't have a beta. Sorry. Please R&R.


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